Filling thread gripping and cutting device



March 16, 1 E. c. ALIX ET AL FILLING THREAD GRIPPING AND CUTTING DEVICE Filed NOV. 12, 1952 3 Shee'ts-Sheet 1 lNVNtOtS ELMER C. Aux

//ARRY A WILSON ATTORNEY March 16, 1954 E. c. ALIX ET AL FILLING THREAD GRIPPING AND CUTTING DEVICE Filed NOV. 12, 1952 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 luvzufors HER C. Aux fiARRYA. WILSON ATTORNEY March 16, 1954 E. c. ALIX ET AL 2,672,165

FILLING THREAD GRIPPING AND CUTTING DEVICE Filed Nov. 12, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 haven-tors Ewen C. Aux HARRY A. WILSON ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 16, 1954 FILLING THREAD GRIP DEVI Elmer C. Alix, Wilson,

IgNG AND CUTTING C Charlton City, and Harry A. South Spencer, Mass.

Application November 12, 1952, Serial No. 320,022

6 Claims.

This invention relates to magazine filling thread gripping and cutting devices for use with automatically functioning looms and has particular reference to the provision of an improved rapid functioning thread gripping and cutting device for severingthe filling from a spent bobbin just prior to the ejection thereof from a shuttle and prior to the insertion of a fresh bobbin in said shuttle.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide an improved rapid and more positively functioning filling thread gripping and cutting device which operates at the start of the forward movement of thelay of the loom and while held in a positively functioning stationary position.

Another object is to provide an automatically functioning filling thread gripping and cutting device which is normally held in a neutral position slightly clearing the most forward movement of the lay of the loom during the normal operation of the loom and which, when the filling is sufficiently spent from the bobbin whereby the feeler operates to raise one of the slides of the bobbin magazine, the said gripping and cutting device will be moved forwardly to a fixed positively functioning operative position whereby it will automatically grip and instantaneously out the filling thread immediately following the movement of the shuttle to a transfer position in the shuttle box and as the lay of the loom approaches its most forward position just prior to the ejection of the spent bobbin from the shuttle and its replacement by a fresh bobbin.

Another object is to provide a filling thread gripping and cutting device of the above character having a spring actuated pivoted cutting blade operatively latched with an upright connector which, during the conventional movement of the gripping and cutting device to a predetermined operative position, will cause said pivoted cutter to open and retain said position until the shuttle is moved to transfer position in the shuttle box whereby the forward movement of the lay of the loom will properly associate the filling thread with the gripping and cutting means and will operati'v'ely engage plunger means which forces said upright connector out of latched relation with the pivoted cutting blade whereby said blade will function instantaneously to grip and cut the filling thread just prior to the ejection of a spent bobbin from the shuttle.

Another object is to provide a filling thread gripping and cutting device of the above character which is simple in construction, more positive in function and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and it will be apparent that many changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the accompanying claims. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to the specific details of constructions and arrangements of parts shown and described, as the preferred form only has been given by way of illustration.

Prior art filling thread gripping and cutting devices for use with automatically functioning looms in cutting the filling thread from a spent bobbin just prior to its ejection from the shuttle took place through a progressively slow and gradual movement in a direction away from the lay of the loom and in a direction away from the filling thread to be cut with the result that the de-- vice often failed to grip and out the thread prior to the ejection of the spent bobbin from the shuttle.

It, therefore, is one of the primary objects of this invention to overcome the above failure by providing a filling thread gripping and cutting device which moves to a stationary position whereby it will more positively receive the filling thread and grip and cut said thread substantially instantaneously and prior to the ejection of the spent bobbin from the shuttle box.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. I is a fragmentary perspective view of the filling thread gripping and cutting device embodying the invention and showing its assembly with cooperatively functioning parts of the looms;

Fig. II is a side elevational view of the device embodying the invention illustrated in Fig. I and showing some of the cooperative parts of the loom in section and illustrating the normal neutral position of the device;

Fig. III is a view similar to Fig. II showing the relation of the parts just prior to the automatic and rapid functioning of the gripping and cutting mechanism;

Fig. IV is a sectional View taken as on line IV-IV of Fig. II and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. V is a fragmentary sectional view taken as on lin V-V of Fig. II and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. VI is a fragmentary side elevational view of the cutting device showing parts of the associated mechanism removed and showing the po- 3 siticn of the movable cutter just prior to the gripping and cutting operation;

Fig. VII is a slightly enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken as on line VII-VII of Fig, III and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. VIII is a fragmentary end view of the filling thread gripping and cutting mechanism diagrammatically illustrating the function thereof; and

Fig. IX is a fragmentary side elevational view of the lower end of the upright connector illustrating a feature of the invention.

' eferring more particularly to the drawings wherein like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views, the device embodying the invention comprises a lever or bell crank it pivotally connected to a stub shaft ll carried by the cutter stand E2. The lever or bell crank ill has a connector arm l3 pivotally connected to one branch thereof by a pivot member i l. The connector arm is pivotally attached adjacent its opposed end, as illustrated at E5, to an extension it carried by a collar H secured to the preventor shaft H8.

The lever or bell crank it has a depending support it pivotally attached thereto as illustrated at 12% and resiliently held at a given position relative to said lever or bell crank it by coil spring 2 i,

The parts described above are of the conventional type now in use with automatically functioning looms.

The depending support it has an angnlarly offset lower end portion 22 which, according to the present invention, is provided with a finished side surface against which a plunger 24 is slidably held by a pair of screws 25, see Figs. I, VI and VII. The screws 25 extend through spaced slots 2&3 formed in said plunger 24 whereby a longitudinal the said plunger may be moved in direction relative to said screws 25 with a W sliding action. Directly beneath the plunger 2 the end 22 is recessed as illustrated at 2? to receive a fixed cutting blade 28 which, as shown in Fig. VI, is secured thereto by a screw 29. Directly overlying the fixed cutting blade 28 there is a movable cutting blade 39 pivotally attached to a bolt iii which extends through the fixed cutting blade 28 and the lower angled portion 22 of the depending support 59. The pivoted cutting blade Bii has a beveled cutting edge 32 which is inclined so as to function cooperatively with the lower cutting edge 33 of the fixed blade 28 to bring about the cutting action. The pivoted blade has an outwardly projecting portion 3 on the side thereof opposite the beveled cutting edge The portion Ed has a pin secured thereto. The pin has a reduced threaded section which functions to secure the pin to the portion 34 and also to secure a plate member 3% having an angularly disposed shelf 3i" formed on the upper end thereof to said portion, see Figs. V and VI. The pin or bolt 35 is held in position by a nut 38.

As shown best in Figs. I, IV and VII a gripping plate 39 is positioned to overlie the pivoted cutter blade 39 and is loosely held in position at its forward end by a pin it carried by the lower angled portion 22 and by the bolt 3!. The gripping plate 39 is provided with an opening fill loosely fitted on a sleeve 42 which in turn is loosely fitted between the pivoted blade 3% and a Washer "53 carried by the bolt 3!. Inwardly of sleeve 42 there is a coil spring 44 which engages clearance of the pivoted cutter.

the pivoted blade 39 adjacent one end thereof and the washer 43 adjacent its opposed end to resiliently hold the pivoted blade against the fixed cutting blade 28. A blade spring 45 secured to the depending support it by screws or the like 46 has a lower free end ll in resilient side surface engagement with the gripping plate 39. Mounted on the sleeve 42 there is a coil spring ll having one of its ends 58 in latched relation with the shelf 3? and its opposed end 49 in latched relation with a pin 5% carried by the depending support it. The spring 4i normally functions to retain the pivoted blad 38 in closed superimposed relation with the fixed cutter blade 28 as shown best in Figs. I and II. An upright connector arm 51 is pivotally attached, as illustrated at 52, to a pin 53 carried by the cutter stand E2. The said upright connector, as shown in Fig. IX has a hooked shaped notch E l formed in the lower end thereof adapted to normally latch with the pin 35 carried by the pivoted cutter 39. A coil spring 55 attached at one end 56 to the upright connector and at its opposed end ill to a pin carried by the depending support it is adapted to normally retain the hooked end 5 5 in latched relation with the pin 35.

The plunger 24 is provided with an angled end 58 which lies between the upright connector 5! and the depending support IS. The said plunger is provided with a downwardly and outwardly angled edge portion 59 adjacent its forward end to afford clearance of the shuttle box and has an upwardly angled rear edge portion to for This is shown best in Fig. VI. The gripping and cutting mechanism, as shown in Fig. II, is normally held in a neutral position slightly clearing the most forward movement of the lay of a loom during the normal operation of the loom. When in this position the cutter blades 23 and 30 are in closed relation.

When the filling thread is sufficiently spent from the bobbin in the shuttle whereby the feeler mechanism operates to raise one of the conventional slides of the bobbin magazine, a catch on the top end of the slide engages with a latch carried by the preventor shaft is and causes said shaft [8 to rotate in a clockwise direction which, in turn, causes the offset portion 16 on the collar 1! to pull up the connector arm [3. This causes the lever or bell crank It to move the dependin support 13 and filling thread gripping and cutting mechanism forwardly toward the lay of the loom. As this movement takes place the upright connector 5! which has its hooked shaped end 54 in latched relation with the pin 35 carried by the pivoted cutter blade 30 will cause the beveled cutting edge of said blade to move downwardly about its pivot 3| to an open position such as illustrated in Figs. III and VI. This forward movement of the filling thread gripping and cutting mechanism is completed while the shuttle is on its way across the lay of the loom to transferrin pcstion in the shuttle box. As shown in Figs. I, II, and III, the shuttle box is diagrammatically ilustrated at 62 and the shuttle at 63. As the shuttle B3 enters the shuttle box 62 and the lay of the loom is moving forwardly the filling thread is automatically drawn taut between the ejge of the cloth 65 and the bobbin in the shuttle 63. As this takes place the filling gripping and cutting device is held stationary in its most forward position. Continued forward movement of the lay of the loom automatically moves the filling thread into positive cooperative position with the filling thread ripping and cutting device whereby, as illustrated in Figs. III and VIII, the plunger 24 will be engaged by the lay of the loom and will be forced rearwardly an amount sufiicient to force the hook shaped end 54 out of engagement with the pin .35 whereby the sprin 41' will instantaneously close the cutter blade 30. Due to the angular relation of the filling thread with the cutter blade 30, as shown in Fig. III, the beveled edge 32 will first force the filling thread upwardly between it and the gripping plate 39 whereby the filling thread will be firmly gripped under the resilient action of the blade spring 45. Further movement of the pivoted blade 30 which takes place rapidly will cause the respective cutting edges Y32 and 33 to sever the filling thread, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. VIII. The gripping and cutting operations take place while the dependin support l9 and the grippin and cutting mechanism is. held stationary at its most forward position and prior to the ejection of the spent bobbin from the shuttle 63 and the replacement thereof by a fresh bobbin. Continued operation of the loom causes the preventor shaft l8 to be rotated in an anti-clockwise direction whereby the connector arm l3 will move the branch of the lever or bell crank ID to which it is connected in a downward direction and simultaneously move the depending support is and the filling thread gripping and cutting mechanism rearwardly in a direction away from the lay of the loom to its initial neutral position whereby the coil spring 55 will come into play to move the hooked shaped notch 54 of the upright connector 5| into latched relation with the pin 35. The device is then ready to repeat its function.

The above arrangement not only insures a more positive positionin of the filling thread 64 in proper cooperative relation with the thread gripping and cutting mechanism, as illustrated in Fig. III, but positively and instantaneously completes the gripping and cutting operation prior to further movement of the operative parts of the loom.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that simple, eflicient and positively functioning means are provided for accomplishing all of the objects and advantages of the invention.

Having described our invention, we claim:

1. A filling thread cutting device for use with an automatically functioning loom comprising a support pivotally connected with an ad acent part of the loom, said support having a fixed cutting blade secured adjacent the lower end thereof, a second cutting blade pivotally secured to said support with its cutting edge movable transversely of the fixed blade, said pivoted blade having a projection portion on the end thereof opposite its cutting edge, resilient means connected with said pivoted blade for normally resiliently retaining said cutting blades in closed relation with each other, a connector arm having its lower end shaped to latch with the projection portion of the pivoted blade and being adapted to open said pivoted blade relative to the fixed blade as the support is moved forwardly on its pivot to a given predetermined position and means for disengaging the latched portion of the connector arm from the projection portion of the pivoted blade to allow the resilient means to rapidly close said blade relative to the fixed blade when the cutting device is held at said given predetermined position.

2. A filling thread gripping and cutting device for use with an automatically functioning loom comprising a support pivotally connected with an adjacent part of the loom, said support having a fixed cutting blade secured adjacent the lower end thereof, a second cutting blade pivotal- 1y secured to said support with its cutt ng edge movable transversely of the fixed blade, a gripping plate resiliently supported in superimposed relation with the pivoted blade, said pivoted blade having a projection portion on the end thereof opposite its cutting edge, resilient means connected with said pivoted blade for normally resiliently retaining said cutting blades in closed relation. with each other, a connector arm having its lower end shaped to latch with the projection portion of the pivoted blade and being adapted to open said pivoted blade relative to the fixed blade as the support is moved forwardly on its pivot to a given predetermined position and means for disengaging the latched portion of the connector arm from the projection portion of the pivoted blade to allow the resilient means to rapidly close said blade relative to the gripping plate and the fixed blade when the cutting device is held at said given predetermined position.

3. A filling thread cutting device for use with an automatically functioning loom comprising a support pivotally connected with an adjacent part of the loom, said support having a fixed cutting blade secured adjacent the lower end thereof, a second cutting blade pivotally secured to said support with its cutting edge movable transversely of the fixed blade, said pivoted blade having a projection portion on the end thereof opposite its cutting edge, resilient means mounted on said pivot and arranged to normally resiliently retain said cutting blades in closed relation with each other, a connector arm having its lower end shaped to latch with the projection portion of the pivoted blade and being adapted to open said pivoted blade relative to the fixed blade as the support is moved forwardly on its pivot to a given predetermined forward position and a slidable plunger mounted on said support adjacent the fixed cutting blade and being operable by engagement thereof by the lay of the loom for disengaging the latched portion of the connector arm from the projection portion of the pivoted blade to allow the resilient means to rapidly close said blade relative to the fixed blade when the cutting device is held at said given predetermined forward position.

4. A device of the character described for use with an automatic functioning loom, said device comprising a fixed cutting blade, a second pivotally supported cutting blade having its cutting edge movable transversely of the fixed blade, said pivoted blade having a projection portion on the end thereof opposite its cutting edge, resilient means for normally urging said cutting blades in closed relation with each other, a connector arm having its lower end shaped to latch with the projection portion of the pivoted blade and being adapted to open said pivoted blade relative to the fixed blade as the device is moved forwardly to a given predetermined position relative to the lay of the loom, and means engageable by the lay of the loom for disengaging the latched portion of the connector arm from the projection portion of the pivoted blade to allow the resilient means to rapidly close said blade relative to the fixed blade while the device is held at said given predetermined position.

5. A device of the character described for use with an automatically functioning loom, said device comprising a fixed cutting blade, a second pivotally supported cutting blade having its cutting edge movable transversely of the fixed blade, a gripping plate resiliently supported in superimposed relatlon with the pivoted blade, said pivoted blade having a projection portion on the end thereof opposite its cutting edge, resilient means connected with said pivoted blade for normally resiliently retaining said cutting blades in closed relation with each other, a connector arm having its lower end shaped to latch with the projection portion of the pivoted blade and being adapted to open said pivoted blade relative to the fixed blade as the device is moved forwardly to a given predetermined position relative to the lay of the loom, and means engageable by the lay of the loom for disengaging the latched portion of the connector arm from the projection portion of the pivoted blade to allow the resilient means to rapidly close said blade relative to the gripping plate and the fixed blade while the device is held at said given predetermined position.

6. A filling thread cutting device for use with an automatically functioning loom, said device comprising a fixed cutting blade, a second pivotally supported cutting blade having its cutting edge movable transversely of the fixed blade, said pivoted blade having a projection portion on the end thereof opposite its cutting edge, resilient means mounted on said pivot and arranged to normally resiliently retain said cutting blades in closed relation with each other, a member having its lower end shaped to latch with the projection portion of the pivoted blade and being adapted to open said pivoted blade relative to the fixed blade as the device is moved forwardly on its pivot to a given predetermined position relative to the lay of the loom, a slidable plunger mounted on said support adjacent the fixed cutting blade and being operable by engagement thereof by the lay of the loom for disengaging the latched portion of the member from the projection portion to allow the resilient means to rapidly close said blade relative to the fixed blade while the cutting device is held at said given predetermined position.

ELMER. C. ALIX. HARRY A. WILSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,326,862 Irons Aug. 17, 1943 2,326,863 Jennings Aug. 1'7, 1943 2,446,444 Turner Aug. 3, 1948 2,540,912 Rhodes Feb. 6, 1951 

